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Loss hurts Leominster's playoff hopes

Sentinel & Enterprise

Updated:
05/14/2013 07:18:08 PM EDT

LEOMINSTER -- A six-run third and a two-run fourth were too much for the Leominster softball team to come back from Tuesday, as the Blue Devils fell to tournament-bound Marlboro, 8-6, at the Leominster Lassie League Complex.

With the season winding down, the Devils now have a challenge to qualify for the upcoming Central Mass. tourney. At 6-8, LHS needs to win four out of its last six in order to qualify, Leominster will get back to it Friday, as it travels to Algonquin Regional.

The hosts had jumped out to a 3-0 lead, as Cheyenne Frost ripped a one-out, two-run base hit to right to bring in Nicole Duplease and Arianna Bilotta, before Annie Thomas grounded to second to bring in Stephanie Storro.

But the visitors batted around in the third, sending 10 hitters to the plate in a six-run inning that sent all the moment the Panthers' way. Marlboro accrued five hits and saw two LHS errors help, with the safe hits belted to where the Blue Devil defenders weren't.

"It came down to that one inning," said Leominster head coach Tricia Nicholson. "There were a couple of errors and they strung a few hits together."

Most of the damage occurred with one out, as No. 9 hitter Victoria Falco doubled to deep left-center before she scored on Marissa Flynn's double to deep right-center. A passed ball moved her to third before Leominster starter Julia Ring walked Jessica Acosta.

Four pitches later, Jen Bombard's two-run single to left made it 3-3.

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Marlboro pitcher Molly McGuire then doubled off the chalk, moving Bombard to third, before a fielding error plated Bombard with the go-ahead run. Then, as Marlboro executed a double steal, the throw home got away from the catcher, making it 5-3 as courtesy runner Renee LaPorte slid in safely.

Cassidy Morin then grounded to second, bringing it Victoria Petrie.

After that, it was up to McGuire and the Panther defense to hold LHS. For the most part, they did just that. Leominster's offense scraped three runs together in the bottom of the fourth, half an inning after Marlboro padded its lead with two more runs.

Bilotta drove in Ring with a solid single through the right side before Storro followed that with an RBI single to right, delivering Dominique Zarrella. Bilotta tied the score as she scored on a wild pitch.

The Panthers' defenders played like vacuums, as they allowed no errors. McGuire struck out four Devils en route to the victory.

"Our hitting was just as hard, but right at them," Nicholson said. "We couldn't catch a break today, but we're still battling. We have to be ready, and we know it's one game at a time. It's definitely reachable, we definitely have the potential and we definitely have the talent. We just have to play our game."

While Thomas came into the circle in the fourth and gave up two runs, she settled down the rest of the way to give Leominster a chance to win.

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